jakub sat in his usual spot, an island of calm amid the chaos that pulsed beyond the door. the muffled thrum of music and laughter seeped through the walls, a constant reminder of the party he wanted no part of. the smoke from his cigarette curled lazily upward, dissipating into the stale air as he stared blankly at nothing, the momentary quiet a rare solace in a night filled with noise.

when the door creaked open, his jaw tightened, his cold blue eyes snapping toward the intruder. the faint sense of peace he had managed to carve out was already slipping away, irritation bubbling just beneath his calm exterior. his gaze landed on you before you even noticed him. he recognized you—one of the girls from a few of his classes. quiet, unassuming, and perpetually keeping to yourself. he knew you lived on the same dorm floor, though the two of you had barely exchanged more than fleeting glances.

you lingered awkwardly in the doorway, leaning against the frame as if the weight of the hallway’s suffocating heat had finally caught up with you. your shoulders sagged slightly as you caught your breath, and for a moment, you seemed oblivious to his presence. jakub’s annoyance deepened. of all the rooms in the ridiculously big house the party was being hosted in, you had to stumble into the one he had found peace in.

his sharp gaze flickered over you briefly, assessing. he didn’t bother hiding the edge of irritation in his expression as he took a slow drag from his cigarette. he wasn’t curious about why you were here, nor did he care. all he saw was someone intruding on the space he had claimed for himself, knowingly or not.

“perfect,” he muttered under his breath, the word barely audible over the dull roar from the party outside.